Lawn mower attachment for eradicating weeds



April 4, 1950 J. B. MANGAN y 2,503,057

LAWN MOWER ATTACHMENT FOR ERADICATING WEEDS v Filed Maya?, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 @u i@ a@ @1 INVENTOR.

Joseph B. Mangan B April 4, 1950 J. B. MANGAN LAWN MowER ATTACHMENT FOR ERADTCATING wEEDs 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 27, 1946 Flig INVENTOR. Joseph B. Mangan April 4, 1950 J. B. MANGAN LAWN MowER ATTACHMENT FOR ERADICATING wEEDs Filed May 27, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVEN'TR. Joseph AB. Man

gan BY Patented Apr. 4, 1950 UNITED :STATES PATENT t i.. imolams. .i 1 "This inventionrelates tcrl'awn` care apparatus, and more `particularly to an'att'a'chmenttoa conventional lawn"mower"for` destroying' and con- A in the height ofthe mowingtua'nityp of Vl'iottoribknite fastening means', thfanglbetween the-lower surface of the' bottom-knife'iandthe ground level', aridv the 'density ofthe turf. a

`trolling low--lyingweedsand lobifioxifousplants, while at "the -saine ltimeinsuring 'that -the grass 5 ""will rbe'mowed to auniform height.

A 4still furtherobjeet is to "provide anattach.. ment ofthe' above nature having adjstableiiex- One `'object offthis'invention is toprovide' an vattachment.. of' the 'above nature whichv may be used for combing the"lawnimmediately infront of the mower knives, so that the leaves and stems of the grass'anvgiVweeols1 will' be raised' to and "held in 'a vertical'positionand :supported until out ob'y theniower to a; uniform height. A further. object is toA provide'v an attachment ly tol ltheir 'normal' 'lower "positions after being upwardly` deflected.

Aistillfurtherobject is* toprovide an'fattachible means for closing lthe space .betweenhebotthe' purpose of` excluding cut"'grass"and"""6ther foreign objects from said space. y V

Anotherv object is" to provide "a'fdevice of 5the *above nature wherein vthe fpoi'nts' of"`t he""`co`mb teeth are shaped t0 permit them* troipezntiiate easily between and under'I thefleavsarfdjstms of. the above' 'nature'which'fwill beapplicable to"y 15 of'grass and weeds' and to avoid 'accumulating variousvtypes and 'sizes of' lawn mowers,- both vgrass or trash ontheir leading portions. .manual and power-operated,' and whichmay A stillurther object is to"providearattacheither beinstalled in the'lawn mower atthe'time ment of the abovel nature' which illv be siiiple of its manufacture or'attached thereto at a'la'ter inl construction, 'inexpensive` to' manufacture, time 20 easy to install and manipulate,cornpact,`"orna- A further object is to prvidean vattachment mental in" appeal"mile,"*andml veryeiiicient and ofthe above nature having'nie'ans'for adjusting durable in use. I theworkirig height of the "comb-teeth intl'epend- With these and other "objects in "'view;"there .ently ofthe adjustment of the"ctting' height of* has Ibeen illustrated onr the accompanying`daW- the Shear hay 0f1-,he1aWnm0W-er- 25 ings one form in which the-"invention con- A v:further object is to .provide .an"attachm`ent V'eIli'elitly beer'nbodied ih'pratice. of theabove natureshav'ing "means'forquickly In thedr'awings, andeasily securing it as aunit; tothe lawn p Fie- 1 representsa topgplan view of the "present mowenwith'out disturbing the' relative positions `ii'ii/"ention, showing' the"attachmentuniby itof thevarious parts of said mower. 30 self. y

A further object is to provide' an attachment Fing.' 2 is a front elevation of the'sa'me. of .the above-naturehaving .resilient 'means to y Fig. 3 is a'bottom'plan View of the same.

-permit the comb teeth to operate'close to the 'turf Fig. 4is`a rear elevation of thesame. without causing vundue l dragmpon' 'the' 'ground Fig. 5 is an end view 'of the'same. A even on rough and uneven'te'rrain. 35 Fig. 6 is a Asectional view;` iif'sideelvation,

A further object is to provide a device ofthe "taken along'thebrokerr'line 6"-'6 f 1,Iokabove nature wherein the means providedfor ating in the direction of the arrows, and showing taching it to the bottom knife bracket of the the appearance of the attachment when installed mower will cause no material change in tliedeupon la' lawn 'mower' ofconvetinal design.

gree of eXibility of said bottom knife. Lio Fig. 7 is a sectional View iii"sidelvationon A'still fiirtl'ierl yobject is to' provide adevice of anj enlarged'scale', through one fth combjteeth the above nature yhaving .means 4whereby vthe and. its'a'ssociated bracket, taken along" t1'ie`l`ine combteethmayf.. beiadjustably'suinjorted1v at a 1--1 of Fig. 1.

lminimum vertical distancefr'orn the' ground' level, Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectinalfview, loman .and having means to limit the downward m0ve` 45 enlarged scale, y in front elevation,"'takeflong -m'ent thereof, thus avoiding the digging or scrapthe line 8,-6 of Fig. l, showing tlicn'st'uction ing of.the ground'by the flexible comb teeth. 4 of the"friction`c1utch which prevents th``"'c"omb A Suu further object is toprovide a device of bar unit vhom angularr displacement riit'iito the abovenature' Wherein spring 'means areprothe comb bar connector. I 'videdfor returning the cmb'teetli automatical-f 50 Fig. 9 isan exploded isometrioviewori'an enlarged Scale, showingv the variousparts of 'tl'eattaohment in lseparated relation.

'- Thisinvennon is" an' improvementvitii in- A'ventiori .disclosedv in A my; prio'r"fapp l`ication Serial e hadjusted in-psition to compensate'forvariations 55 *NumberfameaoymeFebruary ef iefiererinned "Weed eradicating attachment i'or lawn mowes, now Patent 2,465,543, granted March 29, 1 49.

Conventional lawn mowers as previously manufactured, do not maintain a lawn in perfect condition, because of the fact that the turf and grass will be injured if the mower is adjusted low enough to cut the low-growing Weeds such as crab grass.

It is well-known that the growth of grass and other leafy plants is largely dependent upon the photosynthetic activity of the leaves thereof, this activity being proportional to the area of the leaves. Thus, grass plants which are mowed uniformly long, will develop a greater root system and take in more water and plant nutrients for the benet of the grass than those which are mowed at a lower height. Moreover, weeds, such as dandelion, plantain, etc., which naturally have a large leaf area, may be eradicated if their large leaves and stems are cut oii short and prevented from growing. Other obnoxious plants, such as crab grass and low prostrate weeds such as mallow and money-wort, which are dependent for their existence and perpetuation upon their vine-like growth and/or the production of seeds, may be controlled and eventually destroyed and removed from the lawn if their branches and seed heads are prevented from developing.

Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numerals denote corresponding parts throughout the several views, the attachment embodying the present invention is provided with a comb bar I4, the length of which is approximately equal to the width of the swath cut by the lawn mowerthe leading edge I5 of said bar I4 being located approximately in line with the cutting edge I6 of the .bottom knife I1 of the lawn mower L.

The present attachment is provided with a plurality of uniformly spaced comb tooth units T, eleven of which are herein shown, and will be hereinafter more fully described. Since the construction and operation of all of said comb tooth units T are exactly alike, it will be necessary to give a detailed description of only one of said units.

Integral with the comb bar I4 are a plurality of uniformly spaced tooth-engaging crowns I 3,

each of which is provided with an inclined portion I9, a circular portion 20, an inclined portion 2 I and a reduced curved portion 22 which merges into the lower edge 23 of said comb bar I4. The curved portion 22 of each tooth crown I8 is provided with a pair of opposed rectangular recesses 2 Ia, 2 Ib.

Fixed (as by spot-welding) to the comb bar I4 is a knuckle bar 24, the length of which is substantially the same as the length of said comb bar I4. The knuckle bar 24 is provided with an integral forwardly-extending, reinforcing rib 25 whose leading edge coincides with the leading edge l5 of said comb bar I4.

Extending forwardly from the leading edge of the reinforcing rib 25 are a plurality of integral knuckle arms 2B which terminate in the tooth knuckles 21 which are embraced by the adjacent comb tooth crowns I8.

The knuckles 21 are each provided with a cylindrical aperture 21a extending axially throughout its length. A cylindrical pivot pin 28 passes through each circular aperture 21a, and has its end portions xedly engaged in suitable apertures 29, 30 which are provided in a pair of ver- 4 tical side members 3|, 32 of a tooth shank 33. Each pivot pin 28 is provided with a pair of semispherical heads 28a, `232) rwhich scrive to retain it in position in the tooth shank 33.

The shank 33 of each comb tooth unit T is provided with an inclined rear top member 34 integral with and connected to the vertical side members 3I, 32 of said tooth shank 33. The tooth shank 33 is also provided with intermediate tapered sides Sla, 32a and a hollow forward cylindrical portion 35, which terminates in a circular forward edge 35a.

The tooth 36 of each comb tooth unit T is provided with a cylindrical rear portion 31 iiush with the hollow cylindrical portion 35 of the tooth shank 33, and having a reduced rear cylindrical shank member 38 fitted into said cylindrical portion 35. The tooth 3B also has a triangular point 39 provided with an upwardly inclined bottom surface 40 and a sharp tip 4I. Each tooth shank 33 is provided with rear parallel shoulder members 42, 43 which normally abut against the forward surface of the comb bar I4.

A wire torque spring 44 having a forward loop 45 serves to engage the lower inside surface of the hollow cylindrical portion 35 of each tooth shank 33. The torque spring 44 is further provided with a pair of rear inclined arms 4E, 41 which terminate in a pair of upcurled hook memlbers 48, 49.

The hook members 48, 49 of the torque spring 44 engage the inclined portion 2I of the tooth crown I8 and are located adjacent the recesses 2Ia, 2 lb thereof` The torque spring 44 is so constructed so that it will exert a downward pressure upon the tooth shank 33, thus urging the comb tooth unit T to swing about the pivot pin 28, and to assume the normal lowermost position, shown in Figs. 6 and 7, wherein the rear shoulder members 42, 43 of the tooth shank 33 abut against the forward Surface of the comb bar I4.

In order to permit the normal ground clearance height of the comb teeth to be adjusted whenever desired, provision is made of a hinge joint 69 to be hereinafter more fully described.

The knuckle bar 24 is provided with a plurality of integral intermediate hinge knuckles 50 (Fig. 9), six of which are herein shown. The knuckle bar 24 is also provided with a pair of integral hinge knuckles 5I, 5I adjacent the end of said bar having end slots 52, 52. The hinge knuckles 5I), 5I, extend rearwardly from the rear surface 24a of the knuckle bar 24 and are provided with cylindrical passages 50a, 5m, respectively, whose axes are approximately parallel with said rear surface 24a.

Pivotally secured to the knuckle bar 24 is a rear connector member 53, the length of which is substantially equal to the length of the comb bar I4. The connector member 53 is provided with a plurality of forwardly extending intermediate hinge knuckles 54, ve of which are herein shown, a pair of hinge knckles 55, 55, having open slots s 56, 56, and a pair of outer hinge knuckles 51, 51.

The hinge knuckles 54, 55 which are integral with the connector member 53 are offset upwardly and forwardly from the leading edge 58 of said member 53, and are provided with cylindrical apertures 54a, 55a, 51a, respectively, which apertures have their axes approximately in alignment.

In order to pivotally align the hinge knuckles 50 and 54 of the knuckle bar 24 and comb bar connector 53, respectively, provision is made of an elongated hinge pin 59, pivotally carried within 6 ithei,cylindricallapertures50m-54a of saidzknuckles lowervsurface; 13 chtite-.arcuate:segmenti 1111 of 50, 54rextendingthroughoutsubstantiallyseven the connector 53. Y e combtooth units. v. 'Ihey connector member 53 isv adjustablyr-secured T-fWneneve'r it is' necessary to :prevent ilexing of ill-position byccltlrlpl'rlg--thei arcuatee section'. 'H herhinge joint 60, in order. t'o-fX .the-comb Vteeth 5 1 .thereof between the 4arcuate portion-s 115,. 15 ofthe Hf 36 at thewdesired normal'groundfc1earance;:pro '1f brackets:` 15,116, which4 aref. provided Withyshlt vision isfmade of fa; pair ofifrictionlclutcnunits transverseraisedreinorcng ribs 83. fr Elf-'Which'wmwe new .deS-Crifbedv-One ofi-Which is iThenbrackets 15?, 16'11are2also provided '1 .With :,ldeetedi adje-cent1; .eaehend of, the ,Combbmii I4. ailaligned elongatedtransfverseslots; l; 82 adapted cThuSeaeHleluteheunieg comprises e; clutch' l0; @receive-,screws 84,=six oflw'hichare herein shown. onev 6| ybrewing.;nend taugt zz-which-:ghdamy Each screw. 84 isf providedwith af'slottedwround YLzerlgages inone of-theslots' 56 yofthe'hingeiltnuckles Otfm'head ai-byfmeans 0f Which tmayibesen A of theeonneet0a 53;: The dutchweon'e.; 6I is uredtotanaadaptornbracket,86; associatedwthereweefurtheppfevded with:ensinterheuythreaded hele iths,` (see: Figs. 5 :andl '1) .c It 1 will;y be,;seen:that 'i llvsurrounded-'byan outerconicallportio' 64. lirt'ghtenng of ther-screws 8.4willxcausethebraiketsf A.cfzlutcn:sleeve. isf-giocate@ irialignmentfwith I5y 16 to securely erip the arcuate-portion 'Hz of eachclutchfcone 6l and is provided withafs'ocket f theCOImeCtOt 53- 66 tapered te, f1t- With thev e0nice1--p0yti0nsz 54 of l: Itgwll :also be understoodvthatthe:elongated auth@ elutchleenes' 6|, e'slots 8J, 82 in ltheibrackets 15,; 164 lWill'gperrnitthe '1 .Each clutchsleeve 65 furtherprovided with -a 201'1l\17i1`e':Combabanzandltooth-assembly tOzbe adzeyndreayepeptue 61 and a. tang 684er engaging justeclzftranversely` in a planeaparallel @Withthe in the gots 52, 52 0f.thehinge=knuck1eg 54 ofthe :c lower-surfaced 11a otithe bottom mowerknifelll. ii -,-,.knuek1e brf 241:1 The1eenieelportionsA 64A. and the In order to compensate forlthe.:variousrmethods epeyedfs'eeketer 66 of the elutehfmembersieheum ofxa-ttachingthecrnower bottom knife tothe botpreferablybe ,mended-With ,1a taper efnoemere gettoni brackehas practiced., byrzdifferentffmanufacefr-fthaneonemalfnehmer foot. in Order teseeure 'ciiturersnaiplurality ofradaptor attachments Simiay f llfnalxiynlgu'n friet-,10h31 hgldjng pouver LIF b t'llanged t0 :Buit thee/VaIO'llS' IQCaOnSfjal'ld t A pair o-ffscrews- |59;Ty flared-provided -for adquantities 0f fastening SCI'eWS- ugeblyvseeuring theeluteh .eene-s 6|s 5g incthe ;f;Eachadaptore Srmayyffurther be provided with oiricidingclutchfsleeves 65; 65. i'Ihescrews sa, s9- 30 icuppedrrear emiF 93 inwhich isfyseeured afnut are'-provded 'outer heads having lscremrt' ,ha/Vl-ngl anfnternauy threaded to; enc fdriverslotslllaglllfr ablefthe bracketsfgt 1,6 tnbeadjustably? secured heads-i: 10,.: 1n Orth@ screws se; s9v-abut ifr'pOSitiQnf againstH vlock washers-,1 10b# which iny turn'AVA abut Pt'QVslOnf may "3150i befmade Ofaileongated -a'gains'twthe :outerl ends off vtheknuckles- 51,` 51' @X'fbleplotectlvehad 95., thelensth' OfLzWhCh iS Lv,@th,,gonneetor.enmembee 53,Y f Thebodes Olathe lsubstantiallyrequal to that" of thegcombba'rnl- ,Screws 69,:extend-througlflthelendV knuckle-S; 51'y aid-.padzbeing cfa softlmaterialy such. as; sponge :n 5"y ,.threught fhecknueklesvv 51 5|. of the knuckle l, rubbemanda-serving tofadjustablyjll the :space bar 24-and-ialso'through the cylindrical apertures wzfibetweennthe: bottom-.knife andi theforward; part 161, G1 ofthe'clutch-sleeves 65-,1655-1Bymeans' oliiE 40 Oftheattachment :.:f this,.-.v eenstrlemon4 ,Whem--,43119,.Screws;1 59, l are One advantage of the: present invention is `that returned inethefproper' J1direction; theeclutchcones @tithe fWeed-.e'tfattachmett may belrs-ecured t0 the if, 51; Wm befpuued: outwardlyinto the Clutch, sleeves 1 mowerfwithout'removmg thenbottomv knife ofthe and will cause the friction clutch'units F to-'hold Itlfie'combf-bar lll-andthe connector member 53 sei? 4'57 hereofcurely in adjusted positions- #Anf-additionallmportantaadvantage is'fsecured by'fprovision of means=Whereby-fthe area, location .Tooth heightladjustment island', amount of-,pressureyagainst:the bottom' knife is not altered by the securing ofthe weedingiat- Means are. provided l`for adjusting the heigl'rt' 50...;ta-chment iii-position. f

of the tooth crowns' I8 of the comb bar I4 with ir 'Ihisrrieature isf ofnimportance'vsnce: in.;some relation to the cutting'edge I6 of the'lbottom fmtypes otmowersthebottonrkniie smadeafsomelmknife' IIrirrespective of thetnormal height of the .tfnwhat resilient in order. tox,..permit it to yeld: in rf licornbeteeth. 36.V .,Thus.the-reary connectortmemaccordance with the pressure of thetedges. 92 of :berl 53 is'fprovided Ywith.afrear:arcuate*'section 1517` 5`5.-the rotatableabladesSZa. .hav-ingupperand lowerlrsurfaces 12, 13:, said 4surxfac'esxbeing .approximatelyr-semimircular inA .shape operano wandfhavingacommon centerline 14:'Byvmeans In Operationgafterthe attachment hasibeen of.thissco'nstruction,it will be seen that partial roinstalled the lawnvmower will be Operated in l,the tation of the feat' arcuate Section t' 0f the Cont 60 -manner--usually employed-for mowing Ma tlawn. Hector 53 about its Center une 74 Wm Change the As the mover is moved forwardly over the lawn, vertical position of the tooth-engaging crowns l 8. the peints 4| of the comb tooth units T will pene- Pl'OVSOn is also made 0f means tol' adju-Sting trate between and under the low-lying leaves and the POSltOn 0f the Comb bal tooth Crowns t8 in branches of the weeds and grasses, causing them a plane parallel with the lower surface 11a of 65 to be lifted and Supported by the upwardly inthe mOWel' knife 7- This S accomplished by PTO* clined upper surfaces of said comb teeth units.

vidine a plurality of pairs of two-part brackets, It win thus be seen that the weeds will be lifted six of which are herein shown, each consisting within the path of the cutting edges of the mower Of an 11131361" blaCket and a IOWSI bracket 76- knives and will be severed from their stems and Each upper bracket 15 is provided with an arcuate 70 thrown backwardly by the rotating blades of the fOlWald portion 11, the lower surface 18 of which mower. The cuttings may be collected in a grass coincides with the upper surface 12 of the arcuate catcher, not shown.

section 'Il of the connector 53. Each lower bracket In assembling the attachment one of the bot- 16 is provided with an arcuate forward portion 19, tom knife fastening screws 81 will be removed the upper surface of which coincides with the 75 from its lawn mower and inserted through the ,lawnimower L orchangingthenormalaposition l aperture 88 in the recessed forward portion 89 of one of the adaptors 86.

The adaptor 86 will then be swung about the mower screws 81 to a position wherein the adaptor hole 90 is located at a predetermined com venient distance from the cutting edge of the bottom knife I1, and then the screw 81 will be tightened to securely hold the adaptor 86 in position. All of the other bottom knife fastening screws 81 wil lthen be successively removed, the adaptors 86 assembled and the screws 81 tightened in the same manner as above disclosed. By removing and replacing each screw 81 while the other screws remain tight, it will be seen that the bottom knife will not be moved or disturbed from its normal position.

In other words. since the upper surface 9| of the recessed end portion 89 of each adaptor 88 has approximately the same area as the upper surface of the head of the bottom knife fastening screw 81, the pressure of the attachment will be conned to the same location and area as in the original mower.

It will thus be seen that no metal parts of the attachment except the upper surface 9| of the adaptor brackets 86 normally touch the lower surface of the bottom knife or cause upward pressure upon it.

While there has been disclosed in this specification one form in which the invention may conveniently be embodied, it is to be understood that this form is shown for the purpose of illustration only, and that the invention is not to be limited to the specific disclosures, but may be modied and embodied in various other forms without def parting from its spirit. In short, the invention includes all the modications and embodiments coming within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new, and for which it is desired to secure Letters Patent, is:

1. In a weed eradicating means for a lawn mower, means for raising low-lying weeds into position to be cut by said mower, said weedraising means consisting of a comb bar, a plurality of forwardly-extending, grass-penetrating teeth connected to said bar, and intermediate connecting means hinged to both said comb bar and to said mower.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1, in which said comb bar is secured to the frame of said mower by an intermediate hinged knuckle bar and a connecting means connected to said knuckle bar.

3. The invention as deiined in claim 1, in which said comb bar is secured to said mower by multiple pivotal and slidable connections to permit the vertical and horizontal position of the grasspenetrating teeth to be adjusted.

4..In a weed eradicating means for a lawn mower, a. forward tooth-holding comb bar, a plurality of knuckles connected to said comb bar, each of said knuckles having a grass-penetrating tooth pivotally attached thereto, upwardly-extending forward tooth crowns adjacent the rear portions of said teeth, and means for connecting said comb bar to said mower.

5. The invention as defined in claim 4, in which said knuckles are iitted into said tooth crowns, pivot pins are provided for connecting said teeth with said knuckles, and said pivot pins are further provided with means to retain them in engagement with said teeth and said knuckles.

6. The invention as dened in claim 1, in which said connecting means is detachably secured to the mower frame by a plurality of adaptor members which are connected to said connecting means and said mower, respectively.

7. The invention as dened in claim 1, in which said hinged connecting means are adjustably secured to the comb bar by means of cooperating frictional clutch members.

8. The invention as defined in claim 4, in which means are provided for independently adjusting the height and the lateral position of the tooth crowns with relation to the cutting edge of the mower knife.

9. In a weed eradicating means for a lawn mower, means for raising low-lying weeds into position to be cut by said mower, said weed-raising means consisting of a comb bar, a plurality of forwardly-extending, grass-penetrating teeth connected to said bar and means for securing said bar to said mower in a position below the bottom knife of said mower, said securing means having provision for permitting said bottom knife to flexibly engage the rotatable blades of said mower.

10. The invention as dened in claim 9, in

which said securing means consists of a plu-k rality of fastening members adjacent the lower face of said bottom knife, said fastening members being provided with means to press against a relatively small portion of the area of said lower face of said bottom knife.

JOSEPH B. MANGAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 955,261 Gooding Apr. 19, 1910 1,225,380 Warren May 8, 1917 1,497,242 Martin June 10, 1924 1,935,013 Burcke Nov. 14, 1933 1,957,445 Coultas May 8, 1934 2,020,851 Nugen et al. Nov. 12, 1935 2,246,880 Erke et al June 24, 1941 

